2013 ASB Polyfest kicks off in a fortnight

James Cook High School Kapa Haka Group at ASB Polyfest Launch, Auckland Museum

27 February 2013

2013 ASB Polyfest kicks off in a fortnight

The Manukau Sports Bowl will come to life in a fortnight’s time with the 38th staging of the ASB Polyfest. From Wednesday, 13 March to Saturday, 16 March the Sports Bowl will reverberate with traditional song and dance from Auckland’s diverse cultures.

This year’s ASB Polyfest will be a unique celebration of colour, music and dance, and an event which promotes cultural awareness and understanding.

In describing this year’s festival, Event Director Theresa Howard said – “the 2013 ASB Polyfest will feature traditional music, dance, costume and speech from over 9000 Auckland students, and showcase the pride and passion of Auckland’s Maori and Pacific Island communities.”

The upcoming festival has 59 schools entering 200 performance groups, with close to 9000 students performing on one of the six stages over the event’s four-day duration.

Having 200 schools entered for the 2013 ASB Polyfest is a remarkable achievement when one considers that four schools took part in the inaugural festival in 1976.

A key factor in the growth of the festival, to what is now the world’s largest Maori & Pacific Island festival, has been the partnership with ASB. They have recently renewed their commitment as principal sponsor of ASB Polyfest with the signing of a further three year contract.

“ASB has a long history of supporting community events”, says Linley Wood, ASB’s Executive General Manager for Culture and Community.

“ASB Polyfest is an iconic annual four-day event that holds a special place in the heart of Aucklanders and ASB, and we have been supporting this unique celebration of our diverse community since 1984.”

This year’s ASB Polyfest sees James Cook High taking the role of head school or Kura Matua. This role includes providing the festival theme and artwork, co-ordinating the Maori stage, and acting as the caretaker of the festival’s Mauri, or sacred stone. Separate schools will take care of each cultural stage with their role known as the Mana Kura.

The schools who have taken on these hosting responsibilities for the 2013 ASB Polyfest are –

Kura Matua

Maori Stage James Cook High School

Mana Kura

Cook Islands Stage Sir Edmund Hillary Collegiate

Diversity Stage Papatoetoe High School

Niue Stage Alfriston College

Samoan Stage Manurewa High School

Tongan Stage James Cook High School

The theme that James Cook High School have selected for this year’s ASB Polyfest is – “The gifts of Paptuanuku are a koha to the people. Cherish and care for them.”

ENDS

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